


Downtime

by BreakfastTea



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Gen, Missing Scene, No KH3 spoilers, Sora Needs a Hug, pre-Hollow Bastion, set during Kingdom Hearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-02 00:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17877845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: When the gummi ship breaks down between worlds, Sora struggles not to break down with it.





	Downtime

**Author's Note:**

> Listen. I'm just all about those trinity trio feels right now. And I have an ENTIRE FRANCHISE to play with. This one's set during the original game right after Neverland, so no spoilers for KH3!
> 
> (The next fic will absolutely have spoilers XD)

When the ship came to a dead stop, Sora nearly fell out of his seat. He’d been half asleep, worn out from that last fight in Neverland. Actually, it was more like he was worn out from feeling more emotions than he knew how to deal with. He kept driving himself crazy with worry for Kairi and Riku… And excitement that he’d found them at last. Sadness because they were gone again. And also anger at Riku for being so _stupid_. And guilt. And fear that something really bad would happen and… and…

Sora felt his lips quiver. Oh, no. What if he started crying right here in the cockpit? That’d be the worst! Okay, okay, positive thinking. Happy thoughts. He’d seen another new world and made new friends!

…except why did that seem to come at the cost of losing his oldest, dearest friends?

“Donald? Is something wrong?” Goofy’s voice distracted Sora from his spinning thoughts.

“The engine cut out,” Donald said. “That’s not good. But I don’t see any Heartless out there. Maybe they’ll stay gone after our last trip through this way.”

“We’re stuck?” Sora asked. He peered out of the cockpit, relieved to see they were surrounded by random rocks and not Heartless ships.

“Yeah.” Donald released the controls. “I’d better see if Chip and Dale can help.” He reached for the radio.

“I didn’t break anything, did I?” Sora hadn’t been piloting for long, and while he did his best to dodge everything that came their way, sometimes a few stray bombs, laser blasts or rocks hit them.

“No, it wasn’t your fault, Sora,” Donald said. “Not this time anyway,” he muttered.

“Hey!” Sora cried out. “You can’t blame me for Monstro! He swallowed us whole!” He still had the bruise on his head to prove it.

“I can blame you for Deep Jungle,” Donald shot back.

“If we hadn’t gone down there, we wouldn’t have found that gummi we needed,” Sora said. Anger flared in his chest, which only made him want to cry more. He really didn’t need Donald picking a fight with him right now.

Frown now thunderous, Donald pulled in a breath and opened his beak.

Goofy spoke first. “Now, now, fellas,” he said. “Donald, why don’t you see what Chip and Dale have to say? I’m sure they can help us out.”

Mumbling to himself, Donald adjusted the radio while Sora sat back down in his chair, arms crossed. He glared out of the window. It really wasn’t his fault the ship had broken… but maybe it was his fault that Riku and Kairi still weren’t safe.

“Sora, why don’t you come and help me fetch some snacks?” Goofy said. “I dunno about you, but I’m hungry.”

Sora wasn’t really hungry at all, but he got the feeling if he didn’t leave the cockpit right now, Donald would blame something else on him, like… like… everything. Just… everything ever. Broken gummi ship, all the Heartless, their missing king… Besides, he was exhausted. Down to the bones worn out. Everything had hit him all at once. His head ached with weariness, and he felt too hot. He never felt too hot in the gummi ship. Space wasn’t exactly warm, especially for someone whose home was tropical. He needed a nice, cool drink. Sora followed Goofy out of the cockpit to the small galley area below. He walked past the small bunk room, longing to throw himself into one. Journeying to new worlds was amazing and he still loved it, but he’d never had to fight so much in his life. None of that play-fighting back on the islands had prepared him for any of this.

Maybe breaking down in space might not be such a bad thing if it meant he could get some sleep.

Except how could he stop when his friends were in danger?

In the galley, Goofy hummed to himself while Sora grabbed the biggest cup he could find and filled it with water, chugging it without coming up for air. He didn’t even care about the metallic taste the ship’s water always had. It cooled him down, although it didn’t really help his headache. Leaning against a countertop, he rubbed his head, trying to make the pain go away. All that really did was move it around his brain. He sighed. He didn’t have time to feel bad, not when Riku had taken Kairi to that Hollow Bastion place. _Where Maleficent resides._ Who cared about her? Sora had to get there as fast as possible, rescue Kairi and…

And what? He couldn’t let Riku keep using the darkness. He had to make his friend understand how dangerous that was. Sora pressed a hand to his chest, worry squeezing his heart. If he didn’t do something, Riku might be really hurt. Sora didn’t want to lose him, no matter how angry Riku seemed, or how much Riku suddenly seemed to hate him. What had Sora done to upset him so much? How could he fix it? He couldn’t stand the idea of losing his best friend.

Something splashed down Sora’s cheeks. He reached up and found tears. A gasp escaped him. He couldn’t be crying! He wasn’t supposed to be sad. Happy faces. Happy faces!

“Sora?” Goofy asked gently. “You alright?”

“Um, uh huh, yeah, I’m fine.” He scrubbed his face. Not crying, not crying, definitely not crying. Sora sniffed hard and turned around, forcing his lips to smile. “See? No problem here!”

Goofy put his hands on Sora’s shoulders and, without warning, pulled him into a hug. “It’s alright to be sad sometimes. Especially if you’re worried about your friends.”

Sora couldn’t even find something positive to say. He tried, but it got all tangled and before he knew it, he was clinging to Goofy and crying like a baby.

Goofy rubbed his back. “There now. You go ahead and get it all out.”

Sora did. He cried until his headache felt like it might actually make his brain explode.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Goofy said.

Sora really, really hoped so, because all this crying was only making him even more tired. He couldn’t stop crying long enough to speak. Goofy nudged him into the bunk room. Sora kicked his boots off and flopped against his pillows.

He was asleep in seconds.

* * *

He heard a low thrum. Engines, Sora’s sleepy brain provided. Which meant the ship was working. Which meant they were headed somewhere. And he was… in bed?

His memory came back and he lurched upright, embarrassment making his cheeks burn. Had he really broken down and cried like that? That was the _worst_. He wasn’t supposed to be sad, wasn’t supposed to…

“How’s your headache?”

Donald sat on his own bunk, book in hand, wand resting at his side. Sora stared at him, trying to think of something to say.

“Sora?” Now Donald looked worried. He hopped off his bed and reached out, feathered hand resting on Sora’s forehead. “Nope, you don’t have a fever.”

“I’m okay now,” Sora said. He definitely felt calmer. Everything seemed to have shrunk, his emotions no longer swallowing him. It felt like he could deal with everything again. Sora blinked, his eyes sore from all the crying. “I guess I really needed to sleep.”

“Hmmm.” Donald cast Cura. “Just to be sure,” he said.

“Thanks,” Sora said. He really did feel better.

“Sorry about shouting at you before,” Donald said. “The ship’s fine. Chip and Dale helped me repair a loose wire.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Nice knowing they weren’t stuck out in the middle of nowhere.

“We’re nearly back at Traverse Town,” Donald said. “Goofy took care of it.”

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but his grumbling stomach did it for him. He laughed, scrubbing at the back of his head. “Haha, oops.”

Shaking his head, Donald held out a hand. “Come on, Sora. Let’s go find you something to eat.”

Sora took Donald’s hand and allowed his friend to pull him to his feet. Barefoot, toes tingling on the cold deck, Sora followed Donald back to the galley where a plate full of food waited for him. He grabbed it and planted himself on the counter, eating until the plate was clean.

“You’re not gonna lick it, are you?” Donald asked.

“Uh… No?” Blushing, he put the plate aside. How was it his fault if one plate wasn’t enough? Maybe they could grab something at the café in Traverse Town while Cid installed the new gummi blocks. Yuffie kept telling him how amazing the food was there.

Donald shook his head. “I guess you are growing.”

Sora laughed. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll even be taller than Ri –” He stopped and slumped, heart crumpling inside him. But before he could start crying again, he pulled it all in and reached for something less sad. “Maybe I’ll be as tall as Hercules!”

“Oh brother,” Donald said.

“What? It could happen!” Sora said.

Donald just rolled his eyes.

Sora put his plate in the sink. “I’m gonna go see if Goofy will let me land the ship.”

“You sure you feel better?” Donald asked. “You still have time to rest if you need it.”

“I’m good now, promise,” Sora said. “Thanks for looking after me.”

“Anytime,” Donald said. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You don’t have to do everything alone. We’re friends, right?”

Sora’s smile brightened. “Right!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! <3 See you all next time!
> 
> Don't forget to join me over on [Tumblr](http://breakfastteatime.tumblr.com/). When I hit 100 followers, I'll be doing a giveaway!


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